Saturday, September 12, 2015

Heading to The Forum for a show? You can now come early and have dinner and drinks before the show at The Terrace, now open with more food vendors like Loteria Grill and Pink's Hot Dogs. I was recently invited there to check out The Terrace and watch a show with REO Speedwagon and Boston.

The Terrace wraps around The Forum and you'll find stations serving food and drinks along the way. I went around until I found Loteria Grill.

Yes, my favorite pick of what to eat here would be Loteria Grill's tacos (they also have quesadillas).

Monday, January 19, 2015

Ever since Jimmy Shaw opened the first Loteria Grill in
2002, it immediately became one of the most sought after fine Mexican eateries. Not
only the food packs bold flavors and fresh ingredients, Shaw’s cooking
technique makes you feel as if you
were bequeathed with home-cooked feasts. Incorporating long-cooked stews with
contrasting flavors of herb or chilies, Shaw is never afraid to offer specialties
we rarely see. While the Lengua De Res En Salsa Verde – Braised Beef Tongue in
Tomatillo Sauce – has a certain luscious beefiness, the Pollo En Pipian Rojo –
Chicken Stewed in spicy pumpkin seed and Chile Guajillo Sauce – is a cohesive
dish with interchanging flavors of savory and heat. Or if you’re a thrill
seeker, try their Cochinita Pibil – citrus marinated pork slowly roasted in
banana leaf- and wash it down with their vast display of Margarita selections.

Last Thursday I had the chance to taste of some of their current Dine LA offerings. Dinner starts out light with offerings such as Crema de
Chicarron (Cream of Pork Rind Soup) or Ensalada de Flor de Jamaica (Spinach
salad with Grapefruit and highly addictive Hibiscus Vinaigrettte). But if you’re like me and have a bottomless
hunger, you should start with a heady dish like Tostaditas de Atun 2 ways – 2
Mini Tostadas of Tuna Ceviche with Salsa Negra and Pepper Salsa.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Mark your calendars for this summer's Dine LA Restaurant Week on July 15-26. To help you decide where to go, here's a preview of Loteria Grill's Restaurant Week dinner menu, available at their Studio City, Santa Monica, and Hollywood locations.

Sunday, March 9. Jonathan Gold has lined up 30 of his favorite restaurants for the LA Weekly Gold Standard. Restaurant lineup includes Animal, Sona, the two Mozzas, Providence, Loteria Grill and Jitlada, among many other great ones. Tickets are $60 and include all food and drinks (wine/beer). 3-7 pm.http://ow.ly/gvg

On the more "educational" side, on March 11, Zocalo is holding a discussion on "Can Food Really be Authentic?" Featuring Mozza's Nancy Silverton, Jazz from Jitlada, and Roy Choi from Kogi BBQ truck, the event is moderated by Jonathan Gold. 7:30 PM, Skirball Cultural Center.

Thursday, March 12. The Planned Parenthood L.A. Guild is holding a fundraisingFood Fare, featuring an array of restaurants such as A.O.C, Anisette Brasserie, Clementine's, Joe's Restaurant, Pink's Hot Dogs, Pitfire Pizza, and XIV. Chefs Suzanne Goin (Lucques), Nancy Silverton (Osteria/Pizzeria Mozza), and Jon & Vinny (Animal) will also be there signing their cookbooks! Tickets are $125 for the afternoon and $175 for the night, but everything above $60 is tax-deductible.http://www.pplafoodfare.com/tkts.asp

Also, as part of ongoing deals and steals,The Park in Echo Park is offering $15 3-course meal every Tuesday. This upcoming Tuesday they are featuring gumbo, jambalaya, and banana bread pudding. 1400 Sunset Blvd.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

I finally tried the somewhat-new Loteria! Grill in Hollywood about a week ago. A completely different ambiance than its predecessor at the Farmer's Market, this Hollywood outpost has high ceilings and a nice looking bar.

The salsa and tortilla chips at Loteria are amazing, but as some have noticed, they're pretty stingy about it. A small portion for the 4 of us, we chowed it down in 5 minutes. We flagged down 4 waiters to ask for more, but their 'yes' never materialized into more chips and salsa. Finally we managed to flag down a busboy who graciously actually brought us more!

Tacos aren't cheap at $3.50 a piece if you want meat. I ordered two cochinita pibil tacos (slow roasted pork)No rice or beans were given - just two tacos at $3.50 each. The tacos were great, thought. The cochinita pibil was very flavorful, with a light spiciness. The meat was very tender.

For drinks I ordered a mango margarita (I believe this was $11).A delicious margarita although the mango flavor was not that prominent. The only problem - bcs I ordered this the server didn't bother bringing me water ...Loteria definitely has service issues :(

One friend ordered the chicken mole enchilada ($12).I tried a bite of this and absolutely, absolutely loved the mole sauce! The enchilada is also a better deal with more food, and rice and beans. Next time I will get this instead of tacos..

As I said, I absolutely loved the sweet and smooth mole that I ordered another taco - this time chicken mole (I just wanted more of that mole sauce!)The mole taco was great, and did the job of satisfying my craving.

A couple friends ordered the Michelada for a drink ($9), which is basically a bloody mary mix with cerveza.

We all really liked the food at Loteria, and I will definitely come back another time, if only for that mole. Again, though, service can be much improved ...